[Jay_P2324]

For car 1 a used Fortuner 4x4 AT would be my pick as the Toyota brand is proven to be reliable and stress-free in terms of ownership if maintained well.


Car 2 I'd be picking a sedan something like the Virtus/Slavia 1.0 AT or if the budget could be stretched the Octavia DSG.

[jono213]

Originally Posted by ralto

4. My daily commute is about 20km as my office is close to my home, but soon that will change to about 50km.

Considering your daily commute. Would you be using the 4x4 as your primary car in this situation or the city car? And would your better half be driving both of these cars?

If you're planning to use the 4x4 for commuting and long distance, i'd highly suggest the XUV700 over the ScorpioN, it's a much better all rounded package if you're spending 30 big ones.

For the city car, you cannot go wrong with the tried and tested CITY 1.5 with the CVT, it is effortless to drive. If the inclination is more towards a compact car, i'd go for the amaze over the Citroen C3 (reliability and service doubts).
The amaze may not be a hoot to drive but it gets the job done.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by ralto

Looking to revamp my 2-car garage with a strong requirement of 4x4s.

Car 1
While a Fortuner 4x4 wins hands down over everything else out there in terms of reliability, capability, after-sales service, and resale, its ride quality and driving dynamics is not everyone's cup of tea, especially on long drives. Please do consider the same before taking the plunge. Moreover, pre-owned Fortuners are highly overpriced, just like a new one! If hard core off-road hardware (low-range transfer case, rear diff lock) is not a key requirement then you will be much better off with an AWD monocoque like the XUV 7OO, Kodiaq 2.0, Tiguan 2.0 (brand new) or BMW X3 (used) - these will be much more comfortable and pleasant to drive compared to ladder-frame SUVs.

Car 2
As some other members opined, nothing comes close to an EV as a city car for its sheer refinement, low running costs, and ease of driving. If you are okay with Tata (I know it is far from your requirement of "plush") then the Nexon EV Prime/Max is a good contender. I have been using one as a city/beater car for 8 months now and simply loving the experience. If you do not want to go for a Tata, then MG ZS EV is another option. Do test-drive an EV before taking the final call - it is an addiction. After using the Nexon EV as my city car for last 8 months, I do not take any of my other cars out in city now.

Split your budget across the two in proportion to the amount of time you and your family will spend in either. If you will tour 4-5 times a year then no point splurging on a Kodiaq or a Fortuner - go for the XUV 7OO AWD, and use the money saved on the MG ZS EV.

[NarediAni7518]

I would suggest go with a new fortuner now, and get a C3 turbo automatic when it gets launched next year in a newer top-variant. You will have to extend your budget by about 5-10 lakhs though, but I guess that’s comfortable with you. Fortuner will easily last you for 10 years and provide you with that bullet-proof reliability, along with acres of room and power, although the interiors are on the dull-side. But there’s no car like the fortuner trust me on that. Even though it’s overpriced, it has good resale value so you won’t lose out on much I suppose.

[UD17]

You are in a problem which is nice to have. My take:

Tourer: XUV7oo
City car: Honda City CVT or Nexon EV max.

You can save some money and use it to spice up your rides further.

[ralto]

Thanks for the great suggestions guys. Looks like a seemingly high number of recommendations for Xuv700, Fortuner, and the Kodiaq.

Two unexpected takeaways so far:
1. ScorpionN looks like a good product, but not been very confidence-inspiring so far.
2. Tiguan/Kushaq in TC guise and sedans City CVT, Slavia, and Virtus are worth considering.
3. Citroen C3 seems to make up a good number of votes too.

While we are at it, how do Discovery Sport and X1, sound in the pre-owned market? Various threads seem to vouch for both being workhorses and relatively trouble-free compared to their siblings and counterparts. Can anyone recommend these based on the requirements or are they better left aside for the other options?

[Kalash_6324]

Originally Posted by ralto

C: Vag siblings: Some nice cars like Tiguan, and Kodiaq (love this) but I am looking for relatively fuss-free ownership and don't like spending time in garages unless it is truly a car that I enjoy for example Thar CRDE from my current garage. And based on the reviews and horror stories on the forum I wouldn't go for them, even though wifey has a soft spot for the Kushaq.

My nod would go to the ScorpioN over XUV 700, since the latter is clearly a soft roader.
You can book one and wait till one is allotted to you as per the standard waiting time, giving Mahindra time to address issues plaguing the initial batches.

For the second car, I would recommend looking at the VW Taigun.
Specifically the 1.0 TC AT.
VW DCTs are infamous when it comes to reliability, however this TC AT is a different story.
VW has sorted out a few of the niggles that the Kushaq was suffering from initially.
Maintenance in the long run shouldn't be a problem if you just stay on top of regular maintenance as recommended by VW (not necessarily with the help of VW ASS.)

Wouldn't recommend the Korean twins since ride quality isn't the best, plus the DCT is jerky and prone to issues.
Although, moving half a segment up into the Kia Seltos with the 1.5 TC AT would be a great buy as well.

I personally regret not protesting my family's decision to go for a petrol DCT Creta and would strongly recommend staying away from that engine-gearbox combination.
The gearbox is very jerky, again. The ride quality at low speeds is worse than some cars 2 segments lower. Interiors don't really wow you either for a 20 lac car and the FE is simply pathetic. I've managed 12-14 on highway runs with 70% cruise control at 110.
That reminds me, the cruise control - overly aggressive, sudden bursts of acceleration that can catch you off guard and not a generally pleasant experience. That seems to be the case with all 4 Korean cars that share the engine-gearbox combos.
Have the other 3 in my family and have extended experience with all.
My order of preference would be:

1. VW Tiguan 1.0 TC AT;
2. Kia Seltos 1.5 TC AT;
3. Kushaq/Slavia/Virtus/City.

[fhdowntheline]

I would say Fortuner 4wd and a Punch. Both well built, one for hard core offroading if needed, one for soft roading and with 5 star GNCAP.

[ralto]

Progress so far:
1. Korean twins are out of the race in favor of Vag siblings Kushaq/Taigun (AT).
2. Fortuner and Xuv700, continue to seem the preferred choices for many.

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

I would say Fortuner 4wd and a Punch.

How good (or bad?) is the AMT unit of Punch? Also, how does it compare to XUV300's AMT? Any idea?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by ralto

Progress so far:
1. Korean twins are out of the race in favor of Vag siblings Kushaq/Taigun (AT).
2. Fortuner and Xuv700, continue to seem the preferred choices for many.


How good (or bad?) is the AMT unit of Punch? Also, how does it compare to XUV300's AMT? Any idea?

The fortuner is overpriced and in my opinion,
over hyped and over rated in India. Its middle row is extremely uncomfortable. Drop it is what I would suggest.

[Kalash_6324]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The fortuner is overpriced and in my opinion,
over hyped and over rated in India. Its middle row is extremely uncomfortable. Drop it is what I would suggest.

Very true.

XUV700 and ScorpioN are much better in that respect.
Fortuner does not make sense today at all.

[ralto]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

The fortuner is overpriced and in my opinion,
over hyped and over rated in India. Its middle row is extremely uncomfortable. Drop it is what I would suggest.

Originally Posted by Kalash_6324

Very true.

XUV700 and ScorpioN are much better in that respect.
Fortuner does not make sense today at all.

And the conundrum continues
Honestly, I do have a soft spot for homegrown brands. So that's why I am a just tiny bit more biased in favor of ScorpionN and Thar-5 door for car-1.

The confusion is higher for car 2 now. Lots of interesting options there. From Nexon EV to Mini to C3 to Kushaq/Taigun etc. Although a recent thread did not make it easy to consider Skoda/VW. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...-12-years.html

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by ralto

Honestly, I do have a soft spot for homegrown brands. So that's why I am a just tiny bit more biased in favor of ScorpionN and Thar-5 door for car-1.

The confusion is higher for car 2 now. Lots of interesting options there. From Nexon EV to Mini to C3 to Kushaq/Taigun etc.

Think no further brother;

1. Scorpio N at 22-23 Lacs.
It gives you all that you need in a Go Anywhere Grand Tourer for the family.

2. Nexon EV is a nice option but are you ready for EV or not? Im not. Hence I wont choose that.

3. Used Mini for 22-24 Lacs. (2018-2020 F56 model S or maybe even a JCW.) Considering Lord Gadkari and his minions and their incredible collective superlative wisdom and prescriptive strictures, this may well be your last chance at the Growly Petrol Internal Combustion engine entry-level sports-car with incredible street cred. A for-sure head-turner.

You have the budget. Your intent is to keep the cars for some time.
So go with your heart.
You cant put a price on happiness.

[sameerg]

Hi All,

I am in the market for a new car and am utterly confused about which one to buy.

A bit of background. We are a family of 3 and have been outside India for 2.5 years and will return in March. Back home, I have a 12 yr old SX4 and a 5 yr old Vento TSI. Since we need two cars and SX4 is quite old, I plan to replace it. Here are some constraints/desires/needs and preferences we have.

Budget:
Pretty flexible. Anything south of 40L is ok but would prefer not to spend all that money if I can avoid it.

Usage:
Vento will be used about 300 km per month in the city; the new car will be used 500 km per month in the city. We do an outstation trip every 2 months so that will be another 700-800 km every 2 months. Vento has been doing these trips till a couple of years back. I am guessing it can still continue to do these unless I get a safer and larger (we carry loads of luggage) car for this.

Preferences for any models/cars:
I would love to get an Octavia; I had even booked the RS245 in 2020 but then had to move abroad and hence canceled the plans. I had plans to pick the current model, but from what I hear, they will not be sold post-Feb 23.

My Wife doesn't want a sedan. Her view is that we already have Vento; we have always had sedans, so why not get an SUV? She would prefer SUVs for their higher seating and more space. I am not sure of SUV as 1) I will have to drive it in blr traffic. 2) Sedan is more comfortable over SUVs on highways 3) Not sure if an SUV can match the driving pleasure of a Vento TSI.

So in our debate, we sort of thought of a middle ground of a small hatch that can do city duties while Vento continues to do highway runs. Buying hatch will save money both upfront and in upkeep also.

As you can see, we are all over the place

In general, our requirements for the car are

1. Safety. City or highway, I wouldn't want to compromise here.
2. Automatic. Not going back to manual in blr traffic. I have only driven DSG in auto boxes but am open to other options
3. Decent backseat comfort. On long journeys, wife and daughter both prefer the back seat. I remember them rejecting Verna because of its low-slung seat and high windows. Also important here are the back A/C vents.
4. In terms of other features, we both are not very particular about them. A decent reverse camera is preferred, but other than that no particular preferences.
5. Fun to drive: I am not a very fast driver, nor do I corner the car. 100-odd is the max I do on a great highway. But what I love is a car that has power on quick tap and can quickly overtake on a highway and doesn't struggle in low revs in city traffic. Vento sort of was perfect for this. One reason we love Vento is that we don't have to prepare for overtakes on highways. Looking for something similar. If I go for a hatch, it will exclusively be a city ride, so highway chops are not required, but if we go for SUV, will need both low and mid-range
6. Big boot (not for hatch): As I said above, we travel with lots of luggage. And coming from SX4 and vento, we are used to large boots. I would prefer the same or bigger boots. Of course, this point is moot for the hatch as it won't be used on long-distance travel.

Please help me finalize a car. Thanks in advance.

PS: @Mods, I started a new thread as I couldn't find a similar one. My apologies if one does exists. Please merge with the existing one in that case.

[drsingh]

Toyota Hyryder,/ Maruti Suzuki Grand vitara seems to fit your requirements for a city car.

Upcoming Toyota Innova Hybrid/Existing Chrysta for the Highways with a massive boot.

Kia Carens is another contender with a big boot and comfortable rear seats.